Bowling pin pickup apparatus



Nov. 4, 1952 G. A. MoN'roo'rH 2,616,693

BOWLING PIN PICKUP APPABATUS Filed June 6' 1947 NOV- 4, 1952 G. A. MoN'rooTH 2,616,693

v BOWLING PIN PICKUP APPARATUS Filed June e, 1947 S sheets-sheet 2 a Nov. 4, 1952 G. A. MoNToo'n-l' BOWLING PIN PICKUP APPARATUS 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed June 6, 1947 llll lun.:

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Patented Nov. 4, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BOWLING PIN PICKUP APPARATUS George A. Montooth, Long Beach, Calif., assigner to The Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Delaware Application June 6, 1947, Serial No. 752,897

claims. 1

This invention relates to bowling pin pickup apparatus, and more particularly to selfactuated bowling pin pickup apparatus particularly adapted for use in a pin setting machine, wherein the actuation of the pickup apparatus does not depend upon the presence of a bowling pin.

The general object of the invention is to provide new and improved bowling pin pickup apparatus.

An object of the invention is to provide improved apparatus for lifting standing pins from a bowling alley bed and for replacing said pins on said bed in exactly the same spots they previously occupied.

Another object is to provide a mechanism for picking up standing pins, such mechanism comprising a vertically movable frame having a plurality of vertical openings therethrough, through which pins may be set on the alley bed; an actuating grid associated with said frame and movable relative thereto, said grid having a plurality of vertical openings in registry with the openings in said frame, means for causing relative movement between said grid and frame upon predetermined movement of said frame, and a pair of horizontal pickup bars pivotally mounted on said frame for movement about a common axis, said bars moving from an inoperative position to an operative position wherein they straddie the neck of a standing pin upon relative movement of said grid and frame.

Another object is to provide in such a pickup device a closure in each of said openings in said grid, said closures normally being operable to clamp standing pins to the alley bed and being movable to an out of the way position to permit pins to be set through said openings, and a novel means for suspending each of said closures within said respective openings.

Another object of this invention is to provide a one-point suspension of each of said closures from said grid for movement of said closures relative to said grid, together with means for preventing said closures from binding when they encounter the head of a standing pin.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of my improved apparatus, with parts broken away to more clearly show underlying structure;

Fig. 2 is a plan View of one of the cells of the apparatus shown in Fig. l, parts being broken away to show underlying parts;

Fig. 3 is a fractional section through the apparatus of Fig. 2 along the line 3--3 of such figure;

Fig. i is a fractional section through the apparatus of Fig. 2 along the line ll-fi of such figure;

Fig..5 is a fractional section through the apparatus of Fig. 2 along the line 5 5 of such gure; and

Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail View of a portion of the apparatus of Fig. 1.

While my invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, I have shown in the drawings and will herein describe in detail one specic embodiment, with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the embodiment illustrated. The scope or" the invention will be pointed out in the appended claims.

I have heretofore made solely or contributed to several inventions pertaining to automatic pin setting machines, among them being the copending application of George A. Montooth and Albert M. Bowen for a Pin Setting Machine, filed March 26, 1946, as Serial No. 657,238; my copending application for Pin Setting Machines filed March 24, 1947, as Serial No. 736,643; and my application for Bowling Pin Pickup Apparatus led June 6, 1947 as Serial No. 752,896, and reference may be had to these copending applications for a complete disclosure of the type ci machine with which the present invention is particularly adapted to be used. The present invention comprises a modification of the type of apparatus illustrated and described in my copending application Serial No. 752,896 led June 6, 1947 last mentioned above.

Referring new to the drawings, my improved pin pickup apparatus comprises a generally triangular frame designated generally in Fig. 1 at iZ. This frame is normally mounted in a, bowling machine directly above the pin spots on the alley bed, and is adapted to be raised and lowf ered lduring the operation ci such bowling machine', as is more fully explained in application Serial No. 736,643 mentioned above. For example, during a game of bowling if after the rst ball of a frame has been rolled some of the pins have been knocked down, but one or more ci the pins have been left standing on the alley bed, it is necessary to remove these standing pins from the alley so that the fallen pins or dead wood may be swept from the alley. For this purpose the frame 26 is lowered, standing pins are grasped by the pickup mechanism carried by said frame and to be hereafter described, the pins are picked up from the alley bed, and after the alley has been swept the pins are reset on the alley bed, and preferably in the same spots from which they are picked up. To permit this vertical movement the frame |20 carries vertical racks i2? adjacent each of its corners. The racks |21 may be operated by pinions (not shown) which may be inter-connected by shaftings (not shown) to provide for the vertical movement of the frame |20 while maintaining said frame in a horizontal position. A meansY for mounting a somewhat similar triangular frame in a bowling machine for Verticalmovement above the alley bed is shown and described in the Montooth and Bowen application Serial No. 657,238 above referred to.

The frame |26 comprises spaced upper and lower portions, the upper portion being designated at |2a and the lower portion being designated at |225, and these upper and lower portions are rigidly held in xed spaced relation to each other by means of a plurality of spacing plates |2c. The frame |20 has ten rectangular vertical openings therethrough, these openings corresponding to the conventional pin spots on a bowling alley.

Inside of this frame structure and between the upper and lower portions |20a and |2012 is carried an actuating grid |2 This grid is of similar generally triangular shape and has ten vertical openings therethrough in registry with the ten openings in the frame |20. The grid |2| is loosely tted into the space between the upper and lower portions of the frame |20 so that it is movable relative to said frame and is free to move from its bottoni position adjacent the lower portion |201) of the frame, as shown in Fig. l, to a top position adjacent the upper portion |20a of said frame.

Stop rods |22 are carried by the grid I2I adjacent each of its three corners. These rods extend vertically above the frame |25 and are each provided with a stop collar, as the collar |23. Fixed stop members, as the member |24, which may be rigidly secured to the bowling machine main. frame, are provided to engage the stop collars |23. Latches |25 are also Xed to the grid |2| adjacent each of its threev corners, and are adapted to cooperate with latching brackets i2@ which are mounted on the upper portion |20a of the frame |2Q. These latchingA devices are identical with the latches shown and described in the Montooth and Bowen copending application Serial No. 657,238 above mentioned. Each latch comprises a latch member |25d which is attached to a bracket |25a, said bracket beingI mounted on the grid i2 The latch member has a latching portion |25h. The latch member is slidably retained on said bracket by a pin |25e in a slot |25b and a pin |25f in a circular opening |259 and is movable between a latching position and an unlatching position, this movement being aided by an overcenter spring |250 which is attached at one end to the latch member pin |25)c and is attached at the' other end to the bracket |25a. As described in the above mentioned application, the latchk is adapted to become engaged and disengaged alternately;

As the frame |20 is moved downwardly to engage and lift pins from the alley, the grid |2| remains in its bottom position until stop collars |23 engage stop members |24. The stop collars |23 are preferably adjustable on the stop rods |22 and are adjusted so that all the stop collars engage the respective cooperating stop members simultaneously and at a point when the grid l2! is a desired distance above the alley bed. Upon this engagement the grid |2I stops its downward travel while the frame |20 continues down, thus causing relative movement between the frame and the grid until said grid engages the upper portion |2Ga of the frame and the latches |25 move above latching brackets |26. At this point the downward motion of the frame is stopped, and the actuating mechanism in the bowling machine causes the frame to move up. After the frame moves upwardly a short distance with respect to the grid |2|, latches |25 engage latching brackets |25 so that the grid |2| is held in an intermediate position and moves upwardly with the frame. The engagement of latch portion |2571, with bracket |26 causes a shifting of pin |256 in slot |2527. y

After the alley is swept the frame is lowered to reset the pins on the alley. Stop collars |23 again engage stop members |24, thus stopping the descent of grid 2|, but frame |20 overtravels a sufcient distance to allow the latching devices |25 to become unlatched from the latching brackets |25. Since over-center spring |25c, due to the shiftingl of pin |25e, now acts to swing latch portion |25h away from bracket |26. Upon reversal of movement of the frame, the

grid |2| remains stationary until it comes torest in its bottom position against the bottom portion |205 of the frame, after which the entire frame structure continues upwardly to its dwell position above the alley. This movement of frame |253 upwardly relative to grid |2| causes brackets |26 to engage the latches at a point opposite portion |25h and thus shift pin |25e in its slot and also as a result shift spring |25c to a position wherein latch lug |25h again is urged to a bracket-engaging position.

A pin pickup assembly is mounted within each of the vertical openings in the frame, only one of these assemblies being shown in place in Fig. 1, and this pickup assembly being shown in more detail in Figs. 2, 3, 4 and 5.

Comprising each pickup assembly is a pair of outer tubes lilla and |4|b which are mounted between the upper and lower portions of the frame |23 adjacent diagonally opposite corners of each of the openings through the frame. Within each of these outer tubes is an inner tube as the tube |42a (Fig. 5). Both inner and outer tubes are rotatably carried between the upper and lower portions of the frame, each inner tube carrying at its ends peg bearings |43 and the upper of these peg bearings on each tube being journaled into a bearing collar |44 carried by an upper plate |20d, and the lower of said peg bearings being journaled into a similar bearing collar carried by a similar lower plate |2d as shown in Fig. 5. The outer tubes are rotatably carried on the inner tubes. If it is desired to remove any of the tubes with their associated apparatus, it is merely necessary to remove these bearings by means of the screws |45 provided for this purpose.

Thus, it will be seen that the outer and inner tubes |4| and |42 are rotatable with respect to the frame |20 and with respect to each other. The outer tubes 4 |a and |f| lb each have a longitudinally extending slot therein, said slots having respective angular portions lilla and l4lb and each of the inner tubes has a longitudinally extending slot with a reverse angular portion asthe portion |42a. (Fig. 5). As shown in Fig. l, the slotsv in the outer tubes have a straight or vertical upper portion lila" and Mib" respectively and the slot in each of the inner tubes has a straight or vertical upper portion as the portion IliZa shown in Fig. 5.

Two pairs of pickup bars ica, i595 and i560, id are provided, one of said bars being carried by each of the inner and outer tubes. These pickup bars extend horizontally in the vertical central opening in the frame and are mounted on the respective tubes as shown best in Figs. 3 and Each of the outer tubes Ilii carries a pickup bar |53 on a bracket i 5I, and each of the inner tubes id? carries another pickup bar mounted on another bracket iia, the bars on one pair of tubes being below the bars on the other pair as shown in Figs. 3 and 5, the pickup bars oi' each pair being rotatable about a common axis and being so arranged that they normally are in a withdrawn position and extend substantially at a right angle to one another along the edges of one' of the openings in the frame E22 as shown in Fig. 1 and in a position wherein they will not interfere with vertical movement of the pressure plate 13S. The structure of the tubes Ml and M2 and of the pickup bars is identical with that described in my copending application iled June 6, 1947, Serial Number 752,896.

A cup-shaped collar H35 is loosely iitted around each of the outer tubes iti, these collars being rigidly attached to thev actuating grid i2! by means of plates 2111. Within the enclosure between each collar ist and the cooperating plate lia. an actuating member ilil' is movably enclosed, each of these actuating members comprising a pin, one of which extends through the slots in each pair of tubes Mia., m2o and Mib, iZb. It will be obvious that as the grid |21 moves relative to the frame E23 the collars ili will slide upwardly on the tubes iii, and the actuating pins iii? will cause the inner and outer tubes of each pair to rotate in opposite directions, since the angular portion of the slot on each of the outer tubes irl ia and lil ib turns in one direction while the angular portion of the slot on each of the inner tubes turns in the opposite direction. The angular portions of the slots are so arranged that each o the tubes rotates through anangle of 45 degrees, or a total of 90 degrees relative movement between the tubes of each pair of tubes, and the straight or vertical upper portion of each of said slots allows for over-travel without any of the tubes rotating through more than a Ll5-degree angle. This over-travel is necessary to latch and unlatch the latch E25 and also to provide compensation for varying heights of pins which may be found on the alley bed.

When the tubes lili and 1&2 rotate as above described the pickup bars of each pair pivot with a scissors-like movement from 'their withdrawn or right angle position to an operative or parallel position as shown in dotted Alines in Fig. 2, and since the pickup bars of each pair are spaced apart at their mounting end a distance slightly greater than the width of the neck of a bowling pin, as the bars pivot they will straddle the neck of a pin which is standing beneath the opening through the frame 129. The term straddle is being used herein to indicate the operative position of each pair of pickup bars adjacent the neck of a standing pin and on opposite sides thereof regardless of whether one or both of said pickup bars contact the neck of the pin. Since the inner andouter tubes liti and M2 are rotatably mounted on the frame, and since the actuating pins ili'i are movably held in recesses in the respective collars M6, a differential action is provided and the pickup bars of each pair will swing into any position required to straddle the neck of a pin regardless of whether or not the pin is on its normal spot on the alley bed. For eX- ample, referring to Fig. 2, if a bowling pin were standing so far off its normal pin spot that its neck would be engaged by the bar ia after this bar had turned through an arc of only 10 from withdrawn position, the cooperating bar iib would move through an arc of until parallel with the bar ila. n accomplishing this operation each bar moves toward the pin at an angle of 10 without the actuating pin Mil turning. Thereafter, the actuating pin ili'i turns through an angle of 35 while the bar ib turns through an angle of 70. Thus, the movement of the actuating pin iii in the angular portion of the slots causes an angular movement of the bars of 45 each when the actuating pin does not move and then the bars end up in a parallel position bisecting their original angle. When one bar is stopped before reaching such bisecting angle, the other bar must be moved an additional distance so that the bars end up in parallel position. The movement of the pin il? about the vertical aXis of the tubes iti and |42 permits this. This pivoting action of the pickup bars in each of the Y openings in the frame will occur each time there is relative movement between the grid i2! and the frame iil regardless of whether or not there is a pin standing in any or all of the openings. By providing a self-actuating structure of this type rather than ten individual units which are individually actuated, am able to simplify the apparatus to a considerable degree.

Each of the ten openings in the grid and frame structure is provided with a closure comprising a substantially rectangular pressure plate i3@ which is similar to the pressure plate shown and described in my copending application Serial No. 752,896.

The construction of the pressure plate is shown in Fig. 2, such plate having a vertical central cutout portion within which isv mounted a pair of trap doors |3111 and iib. Spring loaded hinges E32 normally retain said doors in the closed or horizontal position of Figs. l and 2, but the doors may swing downwardly to permit the passage of a pin through the opening in the grid and frame during a'pin setting operation. Such doors are prevented from swinging upwardly beyond the horizontal position shown by contact with the bottom suriace of the pressure plate isi). Said doors act to clamp a standing pin upon the alley bed and a cushion of rubber or other resili- `ent material is affixed to the bottom or each of the doors as shown in Fig. 4 at E33.

I prefer to provide doors of unequal size as i1- lustrated in Fig, 2. Since it most often happens that bowling pins encountered by the doors as the structure descends are on their normal pin spots, this unequal construction insures that the doors will normally contact the heads of the pins away from the dividing line between the doorsy which is the weakest part of the structure.

I'have provided a novel and simplied means for mounting the pressure plates within the respective openings, such mounting means providing for relative movement between the pressure plate and the grid lili on which it is mounted while using a minimum of parts. Each pressure plate is supported and held in a horizontal plane by a vertical guide post 83 which is carried by the pressure plate and is slidably mounted ina azi-rance 7. sleeve |1811 by bushings |84 (Fig. 4). The sleeve |813 is rigidly attached to the actuating grid |2| by means of a bracket !8|.. In order to prevent the pressure plate from rotating around the axis of the guide post |83, a second guide post |36. is provided as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, this guide post being mounted in a bracket |81 on the member |36. and being journaled through a bracket |86a which extends from the grid |2,|.

This single point mounting of the pressure plate on the grid I2! also includes nieansfor allowing vertical movement of the pressure plate relative to the grid |2| in order to compensate for variations in theV heights of pins standing on the alley and to permit over-travel after the pressure plate clamps standing pins in order that the latch device. E may be operated. The structure is so designed that in the event a pin of maximum height is encountered, the doors in the pressure plate it will contact the top of the pin about one inch before stop collars |23 engage stops iid, and therefore the pressure plate I3@ will move upward relative to the grid |2| to its maximum top position. In the event a shorter pin is contacted by the doors, the pressure plate will move only a portion of the maximum distance allowed.

As shown in Figs. l and 2, the pressure plate is mounted on the grid |2| adjacent the edge or" one of` the openings in said grid. Obviously, a pin contacting the doors in the pressure plate would tend to cause the guide post |83 to bind in the bushings it which would prevent the sliding action required for the pressure plate to move relative to the grid 2I. To prevent this binding, a compression spring E82 surrounds the guide post 83. within the sleeve |88. As shown in 'ig 4, the bottom of this spring rests against the lower bushing |36 and the top of the spring abuts a collar |85 which is mounted on the guide post |33. by a pin 185e. The reaction of the spring |82 against the collar |55 urges the guide post up into the sleeve |89. However, the weight of the pressure plate structure over-balances the spring, and the pressure plate normally remains in its bottom position shown in Fig. 4. When the; doors of the pressure plate contact the top of a standing pin, the pin lifts the pressure plate at the point of contact and the upward pressure of the spring |82. lifts the. unbalanced weight at the point of mounting, thus avoiding any tendency oi the guide post |83 to bind in the bushings |84.

I claim:

l. Bowling pin pickup apparatus comprising, in combination, a vertically movable frame adapted for installation above the pin end of a bowling alley, an actuating grid associated with said frame and movable therewith and relative thereto, a pair of pickup bars carried by said frame for pivotal movement in a horizontal plane between withdrawn positions and operative positions wherein they may pick up a standing pin, coaxial members rotatably carried on said frame to which said bars are fixed, means effective dur-V ing only a portion of the movement of the frame to move the grid relative to the frame, said means comprising a fixed stop supported in stationary relation to the alley, and means operated.

tiony adjacent said alley bed, an actuating grid associatedwitlr said frame; and. movable relative thereto, a pairof pickup. bars vpivotally' carried by said frame. for movement about a common vertical axis between withdrawn positions. wherein said bars extend'. from each other atsubstantiallyI right: angles to. positions wherein said bars are. substantially parallel and. may pick up a standing: bowling pin, coaxial members rotatably carriedV on said frame to which said. bars are fixed, meanseiective. during only that portion of themovementoi` the frame when it is closest adjacentto thealley bed-to move the grid relative tothe frame, said means comprising a xed stop supported in stationary relation to the alley, and means on. said. grid operative. on said coaxial members.. inresponse. to. said, relative movement tocausesaid bars to pivotaboutsaid axis.

3- Bowling. pin pickup apparatus comprising, in combination, a. vertically movable frame adapted for installation above the pin end ofl a bowlingalley, .an actuating grid associated with said frame and movable therewith and relative thereto, a. pair: of.` pickup bars pivotally carried by said frame for movement about a common vertical axis. between withdrawn positions and positionsiwherein they may pick up a standing bowling pin, coaxial members rotatably carried on said frame to, which saidv barsare xed, means eiective during only a portion of the movement of the frame. toA move the grid relative to the frame, said. means. comprising a iixed stopsupported. in stationary relation to the.a11cy,and anactuating member carried by said grid for pivoting. saidv coaxial. members, said actuating member being rotatablyfmcunted on said grid for movement with respect thereto in a plane per.- pendicular to the. plane. of said relative movement between said gridv and said. frame, saidmeniber. being operative upon. said coaxial members tocause said bars to. pivot about said axis in response to. said.. relative movement between said grid. andv said., frame..

4. Bowling pin. pickup. apparatus. comprising, in combination, a. generally, triangular vertically movable frame adapted for installation above the pin supporting endof a bowling alley and havingl spaced upper and lower portions provided with a plurality of vertical pin openings therethrough, an actuating grid carried by the lowerV portion of said frameand movable vertically therewith andl also'movable upwardly relative thereto, means effectiveV during finaldownward movement of saidirainefor arresting the movement of' the grid and'tl'rerebyelevating itr relative to the frame,` saidA means comprising a iixedv stop supported in stationary relation to the alley, a pair of' pickup bars pivotally mounted onl said frame adjacent each opening, the bars ofl each pair. being supported on rotary members on the frame movable about a .common vertical axis to swing the. bars. from. a spread substantially right angle inoperative position to. a. parallel pin engaging. position, means carried by said'grid adjacent each. said axisand operated in response to said relative movement of the grid upwardly of theframe for causing said rotary members to pivot the bars of each pair about their axis to pin pickup position, and latch means operable after. said relative movement of the grid upwardly of. the. frame for retaining said grid and frame in4 their adjusted position whereby said bars are held in. pin pickup, position.

5;. Bowling: pin pickup apparatus as defined in claim..4',..wheren.themeans. carried by said grid 9 comprise actuating members which are movably mounted on the grid.

6. Bowling pin pickup apparatus as defined in claim 4, having a substantially duplicate pair of pickup bars and actuating mechanism therefor mounted on said frame adjacent each of said openings and with their common axis diametrically opposite to the common axis of the other pair of pickup bars at each opening.

7. Bowling pin pickup apparatus as deiined in claim 4 wherein the openings in the frame and grid are ten in number, and which has a closure for each opening movably mounted on the grid for limited vertical movement relative thereto, said closures being moved upwardly of the grid by engagement with standing pins and operating to clamp the pins to the alley during the pin pickup operation.

S. Bowling pin pickup apparatus comprising, in combination, a vertically movable frame adapted for installation above the pin end of a bowling alley and having a plurality of vertical openings therethrough, an actuating grid carried by said frame and movable vertically therewith and relative thereto, said grid having a plurality of vertical openings in registry with the openings in said frame, a closure in each of said openings in said grid, said closures normally being operable to clamp standing pins to hold said pins against movement and being movable to an out of the way position, means for mounting said closures on said grid for vertical movement relative thereto when clamping pins, such mounting means comprising a guide rod carried by each of said closures adjacent an edge thereof, a sleeve carried by said grid adjacent each of said openings, each of said sleeves slidably receiving one of said guide rods, means acting on each closure adjacent the rod thereon to urge that portion of the closure upwardly when a pin engages another portion for preventing said guide rods from binding in said respective sleeves, means actuated in response to predetermined movement of said frame for causing relative vertical movement of said grid and said frame, a pair of pickup bars pivotally mounted on said frame adjacent each of said openings, the bars of each pair being movable about a common axis, and means operated in response to said relative movement of said grid and frame for causing the bars of each pair to pivot about their axis and engage pins held down by the closures.

9. Bowling pin pickup apparatus as dened in claim 8 wherein the means acting on each closure for preventing the guide rods from binding comprises a spring surrounding each guide rod and within the associated sleeve and operating to urge the guide rod upwardly in the sleeve, and a second guide rod carried by each closure for preventing rotation of the closure relative to the grid.

10. Bowling pin pickup apparatus as defined in claim 9 in which the means actuated in response to predetermined movement oi said frame for causing relative vertical movement of the grid and the frame, comprises a stop rod carried by said grid and having a stop collar thereon, and a fixed stop supported in stationary relation to the alley adapted to engage said collar before the frame reaches the end of its downward movement.

GEORGE A. MONTOOTH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the lle of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,203,216 McFarland Oct. 31, 1916 1,612,867 Hedenskoog Jan. 4, 1927 2,300,802 Parra et al Nov. 3, 1942 2,380,601 Luth et al July 31, 1945 

